What I've Been Watching: November

Hi! When I first started putting this month's list together, I was initially going to have September through November in here, then I remembered my mouth and how much I like to run it. lol So I decided to give them their own months, which you may or may not have seen already. In case you haven't, here's September's and here's October's. This month I watched some pretty good tv which was mostly, ironically, on traditional tv. lol Like I said, I never get things right the first time around, which was why I changed the name to "What I've Been Watching" this summer. God loves me anyway. Let's get to the list!

Elizabeth Smart Autobiography

I Am Elizabeth Smart

Blade Runner Killer

Shade: Queens of NYC

Survivor Series

Live PD

Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie

First We Feast/Hot Ones

jacksfilms

I think it was a couple of weekends ago that Lifetime, A&E and Biography teamed up to help Elizabeth Smart tell her story and I really enjoyed it. If you've been under a rock (or you're not American) and don't know who Elizabeth Smart is, back in 2002 she was kidnapped from her home in the middle of the night and after 9 months of captivity, she was finally reunited with her family. She was only 14 at the time so she then dropped from the public eye so she could recover, heal and resume a normal life. Everyone heard different variations on the story, depending on where they were at, but other than in Elizabeth's book, I don't think there's ever been a complete retelling of events. It's been 15 years since she was taken, and she made the decision to tell the story now in her own words. I watched the Autobiography first, where she along with various relatives, detectives and witnesses piece the entire story together for the public. It was a raw, honest look at what happened, both to Elizabeth in captivity and her family in her absence. It somehow managed to be powerful and devastating, heartwarming and infuriating, all at the same time. Despite the horror of what happened to her, there were moments where you could see Elizabeth's dry, rather sarcastic humor on the situation shine through while she was narrating and I admired that she was able to infuse herself, not as a victim but as who she is now, into such a terrifying ordeal without falling apart. It made me extremely uncomfortable to watch but I'm so glad I did. It was a much more complex case than I initially figured it to be and I admire the hell out of Elizabeth Smart for her strength and determination in such a life-altering situation. 

The following weekend, Lifetime came through with their part in it, I Am Elizabeth Smart, which was a film with a complete re-enactment of Elizabeth's story and also peppered with her narration. There was this level of awareness with the film, as certain moments were paused for Elizabeth to ask the viewer a question that exposed how we were all feeling while watching: uncomfortable. She either produced or directed the film, I can't remember exactly which, and even though I'd already seen the autobio the previous weekend I really wanted to watch the film as well. Totally worth it. I haven't been able to find any other listings of the movie on my program guide so if you didn't catch it I don't know when you'll be able to, but the entire saga is worth your time. 

Speaking of true stories, during the Elizabeth Smart Autobiography over on A&E, Lifetime was premiering their newest true crime story, Blade Runner Killer and it too was a great watch. Blade Runner Killer is the story of Oscar Pistorius, and how he went from being an Olympian to being a convicted murderer following the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after supposedly mistaking her for an intruder in the middle of the night. I never bought that story and I'm glad the South African justice system finally came through for the victim's family; last week it was announced that the courts were doubling Pistorius's sentence to 13 years rather than the 6 he was initially given. Thirteen years is hardly enough time to pay for a stolen life, but since that's probably the most we'll get its a hell of a lot better to deal with than 6. The release of this film caused outrage from both families involved, but you know Lifetime. lol They were never not going to release that movie. I always toe the line with films that depict someone's life but don't have the family's approval; it feels kind of inappropriate to go on and tell the story anyway, but at the same time I still watched it so what does that say about me? 

Moving on to lighter programming, I forget how I heard about Shade: Queens of NYC but I caught an episode earlier this month and got hooked. When I first saw it was a show about drag queens I was skeptically excited. By that I mean I was excited to see a show about drag queens that wasn't RPDR, but I was also skeptical because most reality tv follows the same skeleton--gathering a cast full of frenemies and enemies who socialize in the same circles and making them interact for the explicit purpose of creating drama. I don't care for manufactured drama, which is why most of the time I don't eff with reality tv, and I don't care to see producers making gay men play the stereotypical prototype of the flamboyant, shade-throwing, disingenuous queen who also happens to be a one-liner machine. That's what RPDR is for. lol Kidding. 😅 Sorta. But this seems a bit more authentic and so far I like it. I get more of a 'community' feel from this show and maybe I'm judging it prematurely because I've only seen one episode, but in that one episode I saw one queen help another find a church that would accept him for who he is, and another queen help two fellow performers save some cash by creating an item swap. It wasn't full of cattiness, cutting remarks and uncomfortable silences and I liked that. In case it hasn't already become apparent, I'm much more of a "Can't we all just get along?" kinda gal. 

There isn't much for me to add about Survivor Series; it's the last dual-brand PPV of the year so I always make a point to watch it. Also, one Roman Reigns was in attendance so that The Shield could finally(!) properly reunite so obviously I was going to watch, longtime thirst notwithstanding. It was a solid PPV, for once I don't have a laundry list of complaints about it, and on a random note I would really love if they'd cool it on the PPVs and let these people go home to their families sometimes. lol It's bad enough they had to work on Christmas last year. I mean, Walmart's not even open on Christmas. If Walmart isn't open, why is anything else? 

A show I mentioned last month that I've been getting into is Live PD. Still hooked, still low-key embarrassed of the shenanigans broadcasted by my fellow residents, still low-key proud of being featured on the show this season. lol 

My final watch for regular tv is the one I've waited the longest for, Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie. I've literally waited for half my life for this movie. Seriously--I was 15 when the show ended, rather abruptly might I add, in 2002, and I'm 30 now. That 'literally' was factual. lol I liked the Hey Arnold! Movie and was more than a little salty when Netflix snatched it off my screen awhile ago because they never show it on tv. This was the conclusion so many of us '90s kids had been waiting for and not only was it worth the wait, it was perfect. Hey Arnold! was my favorite show as a kid (but it was a very close race with Legends of the Hidden Temple and All That lol) and to this day, I still watch the show all the time. It's not the empty fluff that's on tv now with no substance. When you really break the show down, it depicted so much of how life honestly is, both the good and bad, in a way that I don't see reflected in quite the same way today. I may or may not have cried at the end of the movie because it felt like finally, I was able to say goodbye to an old friend but it was bittersweet AF. It's amazing how attached we get to things like tv shows and movies, isn't it? For those 15 years that I was begging for a resolution because there was no finite ending, it also felt like the door was always open for a return of some kind. I think interest in the show has peaked again, mostly from us '90s kids feeling nostalgic and missing our shows, so I do think a market for a reboot of the show is definitely there. But I kinda feel like a reboot after the fact would dull the impact of the movie so as much as I would love a reboot, in theory, I think The Jungle Movie also served as a potential closing of the book. I imagine that was as bittersweet for Craig Bartlett (the creator) as it was for us. After all, he waited just as long as we did to see this come to fruition. He did recently mention hoping that the movie would spark interest in continuing the show but just as Nickelodeon held the dice for the last 15 years, they hold the dice here too so just in case they decide to make us wait another 15 years, The Jungle Movie was a nice way to say goodbye. The Jungle Movie was awesome, nostalgic, and made me ache for childhood in a way I only do when I'm watching this show. I would say I feel dumb for being this sentimental about a show, but it really was pivotal to my childhood and as I saw on Twitter from others watching the movie, I'm not alone. If you didn't catch it it'll be back on tomorrow but I don't see it on the program guide after that so you'd better DVR it. 

Moving to my last two picks, the first one is the First We Feast YouTube channel, home of the Hot Ones challenge. I first got into this show because I wanted to see the Terry Crews episode and ended up getting hooked. I saw this show pop up from time to time on the trending and recommended lists over the past couple of years but never gave it a go because being the raging emetophobe I am, watching people eat increasingly spicy wings sounded like trouble waiting to happen and I wanted no part of it. lol If I had to recommend 5 episodes to others, I'd go with Key &Peele, Terry Crews, Tommy Chong, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Guy Fieri. Those are just some of my personal favorites. Even though the format of the show sounds terribly elementary to many people--an interviewer getting into a celebrity's head while they eat a bunch of hot wings--there's also something so genius about it in such a simple way. It's interesting to see how everyone handles the sauces; as the heat increases the questions get a bit more complex and personal and I love the moment the celebrity realizes the genius of the show's simple format. It's so much deeper than it would initially appear to be; it's more intimate but without all the manufactured, press-friendly soundbites in other interviews and it's quickly become one of my favorite series on the 'Tube.

Finally, jacksfilms isn't a new creator to me; I've been watching his videos for years. I initially found him through his now-signature series Your Grammar Sucks, which he officially took to legendary status two years ago when he made an hour long episode with over 30 cameos by other YouTubers with a script and dialogue based entirely off of the ridiculous grammar of others. I was recently thinking about how much work, how much creativity, it takes to stretch out a series based off of terrible grammar for years and still make it interesting. Jack's an OG creator; he recently celebrated 11 years on the site and I think he's a great example of how creators have to adapt and shift their content to remain relevant and entertaining on an increasingly oversaturated and drama-run platform.

Pick of the Month: Elizabeth Smart Autobiography, Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie

Throwaway Pick: Live PD (only because I featured it last month)